White House Sub Shop Cheese Steak Review

The White House Sub Shop is located at 2301 Arctic Avenue, Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401 (Corner of Mississippi and Arctic Avenues). Established in October of 1946, this submarine shop is one of a kind.

The White House Sub Shop was opened over 60 years ago by Anthony Basile and his aunt and uncle, Basilia and Fritz Sacco. Today it is still run by the same Basile and Sacco families.

The White House Sub Shop is a sit down sandwich shop with a row of booths on the right side when you walk in. You can also sit at the counter if you like but the booths are more spacious. Along the walls of this place are decorations of the shops worldly popularity. There are countless pictures of famous people who have eaten here including The Beatles and Frank Sinatra. I also saw a picture of Elvis but without any signature I couldn’t confirm if he was here.

A reason that this place could be so popular is because of its proximity to the casinos in Atlantic City, the length of time it’s been around, and the lack of competition. The combination has led many famous visitors of Atlantic City here to get a quick bite to eat. Since Atlantic City is so close to Philly (many argue that it is Philly with a boardwalk) it would be expected that they would have a famous Philly cheese steak place here. This is where White House Sub Shop comes in.

What makes this place amazing besides the celebrities that it has attracted is the size of the sandwiches. A half a sandwich is about a foot long but the whole sandwich is about 2 foot long (this is how they sell their sandwiches: half and whole).

I ordered a whole famous Philly cheese steak submarine for $15. This was a very good deal considering that you can feed about 3 people with it.

The rolls that were used were slightly toasted light Italian rolls (not your traditional Philly cheese steak roll). The steak is 91.1% fat free U.S. D. A. Choice Lean Top Round Steak Cut. The steak was semi chopped (not fine chopped). There was a reasonable portion of steak put in the sandwich but it was not filled to the rim like many Philly places.

The onions were fried and long thin slices. The cheese used is provolone cheese (they have American if you ask for it otherwise provy is by default). They may have gone a notch too much with the cheese. Not a significant amount like Mama’s Pizzeria but just a little more than enough.

Another difference in White House subs is that they use lettuce and tomato slices in the Philly cheese steak. This is very unorthodox for the traditional cheese steak. I am not concerned with different if different is good but I think that lettuce takes away your concentration from the rest of the sandwich. If I wanted a side salad I would have asked for it.

The White House Sub Shop in AC is overall very good. I have made an exception for them to consider them a candidate for the Best Philly Cheese Steak Club because of their proximity, history, popularity, and the fact that Atlantic City is dominated by Philadelphians. With that said, aside from the lettuce and tomatoes, I like their sandwich especially for the value. The hospitality was warm enough for a steak joint but really what helped them get into the club is because Frank Sinatra approved of them.

The White House Sub Shop welcome to the Best Philly Cheese Steak Club!

Larry’s Steaks Mushroom Cheese Steak

Larry’s Steaks was established in 1956 and is located at 2459 North 54th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19131. This Philly cheese steak joint is located right next to Saint Joseph’s University and City Line Avenue. Due to its proximity to the college, Larry’s has become famous because of all the college students that it attracts.

Larry’s Steaks is also the official caterers for the Philadelphia 76ers and St. Joseph’s University since 2003. But what really makes Larry’s famous is that they are the home of the belly fillers. What is that you say? The belly filler is a giant 2 foot hoagie that makes Leo’s Steaks look silly. Let’s go over their steak.

I ordered a Philly cheese steak with onions and mushrooms. Larry’s Steaks chops their steaks as opposed to serving it in strips. The sandwich that I ordered was a regular foot long for $6.25, which is a good value. They give a decent amount of steak in there as well. I did not order the belly filler as this sandwich is just insanely big for my tolerance today. It is really huge and it only costs $12.30, a big deal. You can split this with 2 or 3 people and you would have a cheap meal and be full. The onions and mushrooms were fried and mixed well with the cheese. The Italian rolls were soft but yet not the ideal golden color that a really fresh quality Italian roll would have. Nevertheless, the sandwich overall was very good and the value was excellent. I can see why the Saint Joe’s students really rave about it.

Larry’s Steaks also has a very large sit in restaurant with very cozy booths. This is a huge asset if you want to eat there. The only problem that I had was that I found the cashier to be a little rude. He did not look at me at all and talked to me like the Soup Nazi on Jerry Seinfeld. “Next.” I don’t like this sort of treatment.

Besides the cashier, everything else about Larry’s is the complete package. Larry’s Steaks welcome to the Best Philly Cheese Steaks Club (do something about that cashier will ya)!

Simonetta’s South Philly Cheesesteak Review

Simonetta’s Italian Style Hoagies and Mediterranean Delights Review

Simonetta’s Italian Style Hoagies and Mediterranean Delights are located at 2510 South Broad Street, South Philadelphia, PA 19145. Simonetta’s owner, Philip Simonetta, derives his recipes from his half Italian and half Lebanese roots. This place specializes in Italian hoagies but has a special twist of underlying Lebanese culinary, which Philip learned from his grandmother.

Simonetta’s Italian Style Hoagies and Mediterranean Delights has a nice little place on Broad Street in South Philly. There is a back room where you can sit and watch television. You can also stare at all the nice Italian pictures on the wall. The staff was also extremely friendly and helpful and made me feel at home.

I ordered their version of the South Philly cheese steak, one of their specialties. I was impressed with their cheese steak (large about $7.25). Simonetta’s Italian Style Hoagies uses about a 10 inch soft Italian roll with sesame seeds. The steak is semi chopped (not fine chopped) and is very juicy. The American cheese that I ordered (you can select other cheeses) was stacked underneath the steak as it slowly was melting. I don’t usually like it this way as I prefer the cheese to be melted within the steak 100% but it actually complemented the Italian roll used. The cheese half melted and half unmelted created an Italian cheese steak hoagie effect. The onions were slightly cooked and chopped in small strips and mixed within the sandwich.

Overall, I was very impressed with Simonetta’s Philly cheese steak and their hospitality. Simonetta’s Italian Style Hoagies and Mediterranean Delights – welcome to the Best Philly Cheese Steak Club!

Steaks on South Cheese Steak Review

Steaks on South Street (SOS) Cheese Steak Review

Steaks On South is located at 308 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147 on the South Philly side of South Street. Steaks On South is a rather new comer in the Philly cheese steak world but I am certain that they will be in business for many years to come.

Steaks On South has only been open for several years now and they are already gifted with many Best Cheese Steak Awards. SOS was named “best cheese steak in Philadelphia” by NBC10.com. They also won the City Paper Choice Award and were featured on CN8 Live. This doesn’t mean anything though until Best Philly Cheese Steaks Blog puts their review to work. And here it is…

I was very impressed with Steaks On South. They give a good foot long Philly Cheese Steak on a beautiful soft, golden light brown, Italian roll. The cheese is melted evenly between the steak and does not ooze out of the ends the way Steve’s Prince of Steaks does. The onions are chopped into smaller pieces and are cooked semi golden.

I am more impressed by the uniqueness of the cheese steak. After visiting so many cheese steak places in Philly, you start to see the same patterns over and over without anyone trying to be unique. SOS is unique. The steak is not exactly chopped and not completely stripped – it is somewhere in between. Really small strips of steaks semi chopped should describe it well. They are one of the few places that make these sandwiches this way. Usually a place will pick a side as their trademark: either chopped or stripped. This is one of those rare shops that said: “Hey can we do both?”

Steaks On South is also unique because they have added black pepper to their sandwich automatically. This is a very powerful taste that overrides anything else that you will eat that day. This is a rare quality. Again most steak places will leave the option of adding pepper to the customer. I really liked the extra kick of pepper but I am not sure how others may feel.

Overall, I was totally impressed with their cheese steak and for the price at $7.50 I think it was worth it. The price is a little higher than the competition (but still not as high as Pat’s and Geno’s) but considering the busy location on South Street, the price makes sense.

Steaks On South gets a green light from my book. Steaks On South welcome to the Best Philadelphia Cheese Steak Club!

Jim's Steaks Cheese Steak Review

Jim's Steaks South Street Cheese Steak Review

Today’s review will be of Jim’s Steaks South Street cheese steak shop. After many years of visiting Jim’s I have made a frequent visit to keep this review fresh. First thing that I will do today is to start out with an overview of Jim’s Steaks. It’s important that you understand its significance in the cheese steak world before I proceed with my review.

Jim’s Steaks has 4 locations as of this review. The location that I went to was at 400 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147. Jim’s Steaks’ history actually had its beginnings in 1939 in West Philly at 431 North 62nd Street by the owner Jim and his family. Jim’s expanded to the South Street location in 1976. Another expansion happened many years later in 1996. Jim’s had opened up a new location at Bustleton and Cottman Avenues (at the Roosevelt Mall). The last cheese steak shop opened in Springfield (469 Baltimore Pike).

Last week I had discussed Pat’s steaks and their significance to the cheese steak world. Specifically, because they were the first cheese steak hop in Philadelphia, they are a Mecca for cheese steak lovers. Well, you also have to give a place like Jim’s Steaks credit because although they are not the first cheesesteak shop they are one of the first. They opened approximately 10 years after Pat’s and about 30 years before Geno’s Steaks (the so called King of Steaks). With four stores under their belt, Jim’s Steaks’ history is extremely important for cheese steak lovers. They must be appreciated and relished because they are the foundation for the massive worldwide marketing of making Philly known for this type of food.

So on to my review…please recall that this review of Jim’s Steaks is of its location on South Street. Eventually, I may post a review of the other locations. Ideally, I would like to get in a nice review of the original location and make some comparisons to today’s review. There are so many good cheese steak places to cover in this blog that I don’t want to spend too much time on any given one.

Jim’s Steaks is a totally different cheese steak compared to Geno’s or Pat’s and in many ways. Geno’s and Pat’s have sliced steaks (extremely thin and layered on their steaks). Jim’s Steaks uses chopped steak, a completely different cheese steak experience. Sliced versus chopped both have very good tastes but yet very distinguished.

I ordered a plain cheese steak with onions at Jim’s Steaks. The steak was about 8 -10 inches (sorry I don’t carry a ruler). The great part about Jim’s is that as you wait in line you have to actually pass the frontline of the chef’s working quarters so that you see every move that is made. This is different than Pat’s and Geno’s where the grill is much more obscure. By the way, Jim’s is inside unlike Pat’s and Geno’s. This is a huge factor for those waiting in some ridiculous line in the middle of the winter. At least you can be a little warm inside. But I have also seen Jim’s Steaks‘ line wrap around the building outside on most weekend nights.

The inside of Jim’s Steaks is another interesting part of Jim’s history. There is pictures and autographs from many famous people all over the walls. Don’t forget to go upstairs to eat. Most people aren’t even aware that an upstairs exists but it does and there is many, many more pictures up there too. Upstairs they are even several tables for you to sit and relax while you eat (but don’t forget to feed the meter first because South Street ticket police are always on patrol).

Jim’s Steaks is also famous for its plaque that it has on its wall for the cheese steak record. This record is of the person who ate the most cheese steaks in one hour. The last I can remember it was about 13 but I didn’t check it when I went. If you can beat that record I am sure they will get your name up on that wall.

Ok…sorry I digressed (a bad habit). Back to the cheese steak review…While waiting in line you can watch your steak being cooked right in front of your eyes. There are tons of steaks on the grill. What makes Jim’s Steaks unique is that the cook is chopping your steak. I did not order whiz because I like American cheese (but I recommend it). By the way, Jim’s does not sell cheese fries unlike the other major stores.

Jim’s Steaks’ cheese steak was very good. My sandwich costs about seven dollars plus I ordered a root bear. The chopped steak is really tasty as it is cooked thoroughly. You very rarely find a Philly cheese steak place that has steak with a drop of red in it. This is uncommon as that is not what this steak sandwich is about. This needs to be distinguished from your usual bloody Mary Steak at a pure steakhouse (some served rare).

Jim’s Steaks puts the cheese under the steak in the sandwich. I got to say that this is one thing that I didn’t like. The ears of the bottom layer of cheese that were sticking out never got melted. I like cheese completely melted in a cheese steak. That is the way that it should be. If you want a sandwich with unmelted cheese then you would order a hoagie (subway or poor boy to many other Northeast folks).

The onions were chopped in large slices and were just lightly cooked. The ideal cheese steak would have onions thinly sliced and caramelized. You will rarely find this at any Philly cheese steak joint because it is too much work. However, when I cook them at home I will put any of these steak places to shame (the onion factor has a big reason to do with this). Try it at home and you will see what I mean. If you slice the onions really thin then it will result in much more flavor.

Overall, Jim’s Steaks is Jim’s. Whether or not I like it Jim’s is one of the oldest and most popular cheese steak places in Philly and will continue to be for a long time. I always wondered what would be the effect if Jim’s Steaks opened up a place right next to Pat’s and Geno’s. I think that they would help take some of that traffic off the streets and put them on the pavement. I don’t think their competition would appreciate this though and may have to retaliate by opening another one of their stores next to Jim’s.

I hope that you have enjoyed my review. If you get to Jim’s Steaks, please stop by our blog and let us know what you think about their cheese steak sandwich.